The darkness of Fai's room offered little comfort, yet Fai eventually drifted into a restless sleep.
The weight of the upcoming assessment pressed heavily on his mind. But fortunately he managed to sleep
He woke abruptly before dawn, the dim light of the pre-morning sky barely seeping through his grimy window.
His body felt surprisingly refreshed, a testament to his week of rigorous training, but his mind was already racing. Today was the day.
A surge of nervous energy coursed through him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and swung his legs out of bed.
The air was cool, carrying the faint, familiar scent of damp earth and distant cooking fires that always hung over this part of the city.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm the frantic beat of his heart.
His reflection in the broken mirror piece on the wall showed his new face, a reminder of the drastic change he had undergone.
It was still hard to believe he looked so different, so… normal. This newfound normalcy, however, added another layer to his anxiety.
Would he be recognized from his old life? Or would his new appearance allow him to blend in, to truly start fresh? This was a question he still had no answer to.
He went through his morning routine quickly. He performed his "Morning Grind" quest, completing 100 push-ups and a quick 5-kilometer run around the neighborhood.
As expected, he received the familiar notification from the system with the experience points he needed.
[DAILY QUEST: MORNING GRIND]
[DESCRIPTION: Engage in your daily training regimen. Push your body to its limits. Focus on enhancing your Agility, Endurance, and Strength.]
* [REQUIREMENTS:]
* [COMPLETE 100 PUSH-UPS.]
[REWARDS :25 EXP]
* [RUN 5 KILOMETERS.]
[REWARD :25 EXP ]
* [TOTAL: 50 EXP]
* [QUEST STATUS :COMPLETE ]
[+50 EXP ]
[ EXP TO NEXT LEVEL : 175/200 ]
The brief exercise was enough to get his blood pumping and focus his mind.
Each push-up, each stretch, was a silent plea for more strength, for just a little more edge.
He glanced at his status screen one last time.
He was still Level 3, and he still had six unused stats. He hadn't placed them. The uncertainty really pulled k him.
Should he gamble on more Strength to deliver harder blows, more Speed to evade, or perhaps more Perception to anticipate challenges during the assessment? He ultimately decided against it.
He knew so little about the actual tests. It was better to wait, to react, and perhaps allocate them when their immediate utility became clear.
He ate his meager breakfast, the stale bread and watered-down milk now a familiar, almost comforting part of his routine. Afterward, he moved towards a corner of his room where a plain box rested.
The words, "The Future Lies in Your Hands," were simply written on its side. This box had been given to them by the school during their graduation, a standard procedure for all aspiring candidates. Inside the box layed a uniform, a purple card, and a wrist watch.
"And this is meant to be some sort of motivation? " fai asked as he read the writings on the box .
Quickly, Fai changed into the uniform. It wasn't anything fancy, just a pair of black trousers and a matching black shirt. Nothing dramatically different from standard uniforms, yet the material felt distinctly superior.
As Fai put it on, a profound sense of comfort enveloped him; it was likely made with the finest cotton, providing a soft, breathable feel against his skin.
Once dressed, he put on the wrist watch and took the purple card. He activated his Fairy Storage skill, and with a faint shimmer, the card was instantly stored away, disappearing from sight.
Stepping towards the door, Fai paused for a last glance at his small room. There was a high chance he wouldn't be coming back to it, especially if he passed the assessment.
Although the room wasn't the best, it was where he had spent most of his life after leaving the orphanage. Some memories, both good and bad, were buried within these very walls.
Stepping out into the building's common area, an unusual quiet hung in the air. Most of the other young hopefuls would have already departed, either eager to secure their spots or simply too nervous to linger.
The streets of the city's outer districts were slowly coming alive as Fai walked. Vendors were just beginning to set up their stalls, and the air filled with the faint aroma of roasted maize and cheap stew.
Other young people, some looking determined, others visibly trembling with nerves, were also making their way towards the central park grounds.
This area, close to the main city gates, was designated as the waiting point where vehicles would arrive to transport them to the actual assessment location.
Many of the candidates were accompanied by their families, who offered words of encouragement or last-minute advice, clinging to their loved ones for as long as possible.
Fai seeing this , felt a familiar pang of loneliness, but he quickly suppressed it. His path was his own now, a solitary journey.
As he moved closer to the city gates where they were supposed to wait, the buildings grew taller, the streets cleaner, and the people better dressed.
One of the city's main training grounds, located conveniently near the gates, could be seen. It was a grand, imposing structure of grey stone, usually reserved for the elite, the formally trained, and the city's Mutated Hunter Guards.
Today, however, its massive gates were thrown wide open. Inside, a large, temporary congregation of people could be seen.
What looked like a vast parking area had been set up adjacent to it, surrounded by the high, reinforced walls of the city's gates.
Numerous large, long vehicles, resembling armored transport buses, were neatly parked in orderly rows around the corners.
Hundreds of aspiring candidates had already gathered in the vast open area.
The air crackled with a palpable mixture of nervous chatter, excited whispers.
Fai felt his heart quicken, not just from the exertion of walking, but from the sheer scale of the competition. So many hopefuls, each dreaming of becoming a Mutated Hunter.
Soon, a bald man, with a powerfully built body that allowed his muscles and abs to be clearly seen through the thin black shirt clinging tightly to his skin, strode towards the crowd of teenagers.
He wore a pair of dark sunglasses, obscuring his eyes, and moved with a distinct, almost military precision as he readied himself to speak.
"It was expected that everyone going for the assessment was required to be here by eight hundred AM," his voice boomed, cutting through the murmurs of the crowd.
His tone was sharp, full of seriousness. "Anyone who hasn't managed to be here at this moment is officially disqualified from the assessment, regardless of their status or importance. No excuse is valid for late coming."
The very first words that left the bald man's mouth struck the crowd of teenagers with the force of a physical surprise.
What they had been expecting was perhaps a welcoming address, or a grand self-introduction from the figure before them—perhaps a declaration of his name, his position in the world, or his rank within the New World Military Service.
These were the typical actions of those who boasted about their status and power, for they had worked hard to earn it, and in this new world, power, strength, and high status were truly all that mattered. Those at the top reigned supreme over those below.
Yet, the man did none of that. He went directly to business, eliminating the remaining students who hadn't made it into the gates of the training grounds by the strict deadline.
As soon as he uttered those words, several men in black uniforms, identical to those the students now wore, could be seen standing by the gates, moving in unison to lock them with a resounding clang.
Parents and younger siblings on the other side of the gates instantly erupted with anger, their complaints pouring out towards the impassive figures guarding the entrance. But their protests fell onto deaf ears.
The men by the gate seemed to take instructions from only one person, and that was the bald man.